Vermont Deer Season Report Available Online

The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department’s report on the 2012 deer hunting seasons is available on the department’s website, with statistical information about the number of deer killed in various categories.

The report is produced each year after information is received from more than 120 agents statewide and all the data are reviewed for accuracy and trends.

Hunters killed 13,757 deer in 2012, up more than 13 percent from the year before. The department estimated an increase in the number of deer in 2012 due to a mild winter and a reduction in the number of muzzleloader season antlerless deer permits issued in 2011.

In response, the number of antlerless permits was increased by 30 percent in 2012.

“The increase in antlerless permits provided hunters with the opportunity to harvest antlerless deer while still allowing for the slow increase of deer numbers in many regions of the state,” said deer biologist Adam Murkowski.

Forty-five percent of the deer were taken during the rifle season, 24 percent in archery season, 18 percent during muzzleloader season, and 13 percent in youth season.

“I want to encourage anyone interested in Vermont’s deer management program to attend one of the three annual public hearings being held this month,” Murkowski said. “The meetings will cover last year’s harvest results and prospects for the 2013 deer seasons. If you can’t make one of these meetings, there will be two more later this spring in the northeast and southwest regions of the state.”